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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27129727">Patchwork</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/pseuds/firelord65'>firelord65</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fecky's Whumptober Oneshots [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Divergence - Post-Curse of the Black Pearl, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor pining if you squint, On the Run, Stitches, Whumptober 2020, field medicine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:29:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,784</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27129727</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/pseuds/firelord65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Washed up and in trouble, Jack has to take care of Elizabeth.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jack Sparrow &amp; Elizabeth Swann</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fecky's Whumptober Oneshots [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Patchwork</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is definitely my most bullshit of any medical writing ever. Take all of this with like, four grams of salt. That's what comes with writing one ficlet a day XD No time for research, just guessing.</p>
<p>Day 20: Toto, I Have a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore - <strike>Lost </strike>| Field Medicine | <strike>Medieval</strike> &amp; Alt prompt - Stitches</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Atop the roiling waves, the lifeboat rocked and seized as its passengers rowed furiously. Their tiny lantern cast its light in a feeble ray. It hardly mattered for how the rain beat down. In fact, to evade their pursuers it would have been better to extinguish it altogether. But Jack and Elizabeth had greater concerns than the little glass box.</p>
<p>They needed to find shelter and quickly. Though Elizabeth's clever tongue had gotten them free from the brig and Jack's experience had told them to sabotage the other small craft before launching theirs, the process had not been entirely painless. Elizabeth huddled at the nose of the craft, her eyes on the horizon and her hand pressing tightly against her other limp arm.</p>
<p>"Take us further port," she shouted hoarsely. "I can see rocks ahead. There may be a shoreline past there."</p>
<p>"Or our death," Jack retorted, but he obliged and threw their boat through the next cresting wave to their new heading. Elizabeth cringed as the freezing water crashed around her and into the boat. They were both soaked from the storm, but the salt burned at her wounded arm. She squinted against the rain as Jack rowed them slowly closer to the rocks.</p>
<p>It was a delicate balance between getting to where Elizabeth could see and not getting so close as to dash themselves upon the craigy surfaces. At the last moment Elizabeth had to grab a spare paddle and shove the nose of the craft away from a reef they had pushed too close to. She had been distracted by the appearance of a beach rising hopefully from the ocean. They exchanged some cruel words that were immediately forgotten once the boat was beached.</p>
<p>There was no time for celebration yet, though. Jack took the lantern and gripped Elizabeth's elbow when she wavered on the sand. "You really don't want to trust me to carry you," he drawled with forced humor. He eyed her near transparent skin and trembling shoulders. Elizabeth was a strong woman. Her coat bore more tears than he had expected. They had to deal with several of the Company's men when they were escaping, but he hadn't seen her take more than one or two surface wounds.</p>
<p>"Swann?" Jack pressed. She was leaning heavily on him now, her feet stumbling in the damp sand as it turned to coarse, grassy soil. Her lips moved but he couldn't discern any words. Her arm hung limp on one side.</p>
<p>Jack hoisted the lantern higher and moved to hold Elizabeth about the waist instead. Her sword belt dug into him but she didn't look like she was going to topple over quite so easily now. "Just a bit further," he grunted. The island was larger than he had expected and had a steep incline leading into a series of cliffs. There was a small outcropping and rockfall up ahead that would at least shelter them from the worst of the wind and rain without needing to climb too far. The storm didn't appear to be letting up any time soon.</p>
<p>With some cajoling and an uncomfortable amount of contact between the two, Jack managed to get Elizabeth to the makeshift cave. The lantern went down in the furthest nook, nestled atop a bit of rock shelf. Elizabeth slumped against one of the fallen boulders, her head lolling back as soon as she wasn't standing.</p>
<p>"Thanks," she murmured. Her voice was barely audible over the whistling wind that snaked through the cracks in the boulders.</p>
<p>Jack lifted an eyebrow and crouched down next to her. "I considered leaving you there and then decided that it wouldn't be worth it when your next moonstruck suitor eventually found out and came to remove my head from my neck," he said idly. Keeping her talking would keep her awake and distracted while he removed her unnervingly bloody hand from her injured arm.</p>
<p>The grimace that slid across his face was reflexive as was the glance he took of her face. Elizabeth's eyelids had fluttered closed and her breathing was shallow. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she nearly whispered. "No more moonstruck suitors."</p>
<p>Jack turned his attention back to the wound. Her coat and shirtsleeve were stained with blood as well. It wasn't a good sign. "I would suggest perhaps the ones that go head over heels." Jack continued their nonsense conversation as he carefully pushed her sleeve further up.</p>
<p>Her jaw clenched and Jack had to credit her; she didn't otherwise make a sound as he teased the fabric free from the broken skin. "They're much easier to dispatch." Next came the shirt sleeve. It had been a beautiful, pristine white cotton at one point. Days ago, that was. Now it would need some diligent laundering and several tears sewn back together. Much like Elizabeth herself.</p>
<p>Jack fell silent as he examined the now-exposed wound. The skin was sliced, not torn. Underneath he could only assume the rest of the injury was the same. Bringing the skin together would keep it from any rot and hopefully staunch the slow bleed that was still seeping out.</p>
<p>"Jack?" Elizabeth said breathlessly. He cleared his throat and, briefly, squeezed her hand he realized he was holding in order to see the injury. A tiny surge of relief came when he felt her fingers wiggle in response.</p>
<p>"Don't move," he said before he stood once more. Her face scrunched but she remained where she was. Jack suspected that she wouldn't have been able to stand if she had wanted to, but he also knew not to underestimate the young woman. He squared his shoulders and traced his path from before, returning again to the moored boat.</p>
<p>Digging through the scattered supplies that had been on board before they absconded with the craft, his mood lightened when he found the waterproof pouch. He didn't care about the lack of a pole; the line and hooks would do for what he needed. He hurried back up the beach.</p>
<p>As he reentered the makeshift shelter, Jack once again noted how pale Elizabeth appeared. She wasn't shivering anymore but he feared that wasn't a good change. The rain and wind had whipped away his own body heat with ease. "You see, I'm quite fond of my head," Jack offered, pretending there had been no gap to the conversation. He settled onto the ground and lay her arm across his folded legs. Elizabeth's head lolled to rest on his shoulder. She wouldn't like this next bit.</p>
<p>Out came the contents of the waterproof pouch. Jack frowned as he picked up one of the hooks. It had a wicked curve and a wide point that was suited for the thick skin of deep ocean fish. It would rip through Elizabeth's and leave her with more holes than she had started with. "I'm a bit fond of it, too," she murmured.</p>
<p>Jack leaned forward, dislodging her head from its perch. Muttering apologies, he patted at her sides until he felt the sash she had about her waist to disguise the thicker leather sword belt. There he fished around until he felt the thin form of one of the pins keeping it in place.</p>
<p>"You'll get this back later," Jack said as he sat back once more. The pin wasn't ideal - none of this was - but he suspected that Elizabeth would prefer to keep her arm rather than wait for a doctor to wander through on this empty island.</p>
<p>He allowed himself one moment to feel guilty and another to look at Elizabeth's face once more. They would both need a distraction during this. Jack placed her hand on his knee. It would be a better place than others in his lap once the pain began. "Did I ever tell you about that day when dear William sprang me from your father's prison?" he said. "I knew instantly that he was more than moonstruck over you."</p>
<p>She laughed weakly and then hissed, her jaw clamping shut as the needle went into the tender, raw flesh for the first time. "Yes," Jack continued with the same forced casual tone from before when he had first realized she was in rough shape. "I agree. It is a bit much, isn't it? I thought at first he was simply an overly enthusiastic blacksmith. And then I realized he was over enthusiastic with everything that he did, affection included."</p>
<p>The next push of the needle was just as painful. Elizabeth's leg spasmed and she flexed her hand before taking a crushing grip on Jack's knee. He exhaled and pulled the line neatly along with each stitch. It wouldn't be clean. It wouldn't be pretty. But it would hold.</p>
<p>"I agree, it is a bit much. But there is something impressive about someone so dedicated to the object of their affections." Jack didn't take his eyes off of his work. He didn't want to see the silent tears streaming down Elizabeth's face. How she wasn't screaming he didn't know. When this was through, he would go back to the boat and search for provisions. He should have looked for some spirit before to take the edge off, but then again Elizabeth might have just scoffed and presumed he was being <em>typical Jack, looking for booze to survive the night.</em></p>
<p>He looked forward to when her barbed tongue would return. The stifled gasps and twitches were as painful to watch as he was certain each stitch was to feel. "And then he managed not only to botch rescuing you but end up needing rescue himself. A real man of intelligence you have there," Jack teased. Elizabeth balled her free hand in a fist and knocked it against his knee, spurring an apology.</p>
<p>He was nearly done, the last few stitches going in easily despite Elizabeth's now trembling arm. Jack tied off the thread and broke it with his teeth. "There," he grunted. "No moonstruck lovers can seek vengeance. You'll live through the night."</p>
<p>Elizabeth slowly uncoiled next to him, her head dropping back to Jack's shoulder now that he was not hunched over her injury. He sat there frozen for a dozen breaths, waiting for what she would eventually say. When nothing came, Jack turned carefully to regard her. Her breathing had evened out and she was now fast asleep, the toll of everything having wiped out even her vast reserves of strength.</p>
<p>Jack let out a breath he hadn't been holding and rested his head against the rock wall. He quite wanted to go and search for that bottle of spirits or two, but for now he could stay here. Just until he was certain Elizabeth was alright.</p>
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